The Solution
How did you evaluate Knowre for use with your Tier 2 and Tier 3 students?
When I initially came across Knowre, my first reaction was that the program looked fun! After reading Knowre’s White Papers, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. What my students really needed was a program that provided corrective instruction on algebra building blocks that prepared them to master top-level concepts. It seemed like Knowre might directly meet that need.
I decided to evaluate Knowre through a trial. My main objective for the trial was to see how my students, who are normally very averse to trying anything new, would engage with the program. The result – they loved Knowre! Our experience with Knowre last year was incredible. My students made significant gains on their MAP scores. My principal reviewed the data, which then prompted the district to ask for a presentation. Knowre was spreading like wildfire. As a result of the success in my classroom, Knowre was made available for all Tier 2 intervention classes across the district for the 2016-2017 school year!
How do you implement Knowre in your classroom?
I dedicate one class period (50 minutes) per week to Knowre. Students work independently on lessons that line up with what I’m currently teaching in class. If they don’t finish the lesson in class, they must finish it for homework. Using the real-time data in the Teacher Dashboard, I am able to identify which questions the majority of the class is struggling with. We then go over the problem as a class on the projector.
I also use Knowre with students that come to me to for help before class, after class, and during study hall. I choose and assign them lessons from across Knowre’s four curricula as “MAP Gap” work. Because these lessons are not currently being taught in class, the goal is to help students review and reinforce previously taught lessons and skills.
How are your students engaging with Knowre?
First of all, Knowre’s interface is very intuitive. My students were able to get started right away and I did not have to train them at all. Knowre’s achievement system, which rewards students up to three in-program “coins” for correctly answered questions, helps with student engagement. I am also able to maximize engagement by holding “coin competitions.” I offer students prizes based on how many coins they have earned.
Students become very competitive over earning coins, which is a joy to see! They’ll get excited and start yelling at the computer and at “the man” (Knowre’s math coach, Dr. Doug) if they lose coins. Luckily, Knowre always offers students the option to retry a question with different values so that students have the opportunity to earn all three coins per question. It’s great way to motivate students to answer questions correctly and encourage them to retry problems if they didn’t get it the first time.
